Nigeria, South Africa Sign MOU to Boost Trade in Oil, Gas Sector

Nigeria and South Africa have signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at boosting the volume of oil and gas trade between the two countries, Diezani Alison-Madueke, Nigeria's oil minister, said Wednesday.

In a statement issued Wednesday by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corp., or NNPC, in Abuja, Ms. Alison-Madueke was quoted as saying on the sidelines of the Nigeria and South Africa Business Forum in Cape Town that the MOU would also "reinforce and strengthen the existing symbiotic relationship between the two largest economics in Africa."

Ms. Alison-Madueke is on the delegation of President Goodluck Jonathan who began a state visit to South Africa on Monday.

Nigeria, Africa's largest oil producer, has in the last six years unsuccessfully tried to pass in its National Assembly a bill meant to transform its inefficient and corruption-ridden oil and gas sector.

Oil thefts and pipeline vandalism are rising in the nation's oil-producing Niger Delta region while the uncertainty created in Nigeria's oil and gas sector due to the bill's failure to pass has compelled international oil companies to hold back further investments in the sector.

Ms. Alison-Madueke said the MOU on the oil and gas sector "is to basically help in the transfer of knowledge, skills, capabilities and technology."

She said when passed into law, oil bill would help to open the entire spectrum of the Nigerian oil industry to investors from all over the globe.

The bill is currently being debated in the National Assembly in Abuja where there is a sharp division among legislators from the southern and northern parts of the country on the provisions of bill and it is not clear when it will be passed into law.

Copyright (c) 2013 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

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Noble Energy Spuds Carla South Prospect Offshore West Africa

Noble Energy Inc. began drilling the I-7 exploratory well on the Carla South prospect in Block I using the Atwood Hunter (DW semisub) last week, PA Resources reported.

The Carla South prospect is on trend with the Carla North discovery recently appraised in Block O to the north of Block I, which houses the Aseng field, in Equatorial Guinea, PA Resources stated in a press release. The operator, Noble Energy, is targeting Tertiary sandstones of similar age to those in the discovery to the north. Drilling is expected to reach total depth in around 25 days with plans for a subsequent sidetrack of similar duration.

"We are very glad to have resumed exploration drilling in Block I, following an extended period focused on development of the Aseng and Alen Fields," said PA Resources' CEO Bo Askvik in a press release. "In addition it is likely that an appraisal well will be drilled in Block I later this year on the existing Diega discovery and this year's drilling program will be valuable in progressing the next field development or developments in Block I."

The Carla discovery that was made in November 2011 encountered 26 feet of oil pay in good quality upper Oligocene sands below the Alen field. It was drilled in 1,900 feet of water and reached a total depth of 11,500 feet. Noble Energy estimates between 35-100 million barrels of oil equivalent, of which 80 percent are liquids, at the Carla prospect.

Noble plans to develop the field and connect it to the producing Aseng field in Block I, or the Alen field in Block O, that is due to come onstream in late 2013.

With more than 10 years of journalism experience, Robin Dupre specializes in the offshore sector of the oil and gas industry. Email Robin at rdupre@rigzone.com.

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Offshore Drilling Expenditiure to Top $17B by 2016 in Middle East, Africa

An increase in offshore discoveries is prompting a surge in exploration activity across the Middle East and Africa and driving up the amount spent on drilling, stated the latest report form business intelligence firm GBI Research.

The company's latest oil and gas report forecasts offshore drilling expenditure across the region to climb steadily from $13.56 billion in 2012 to $17.03 billion in 2016. Cumulatively, the total expected spend for this five year period is $77.3 billion, which represents an increase of approximately 22 percent over 2007-2011 total of $63.5 billion.

Drilling outlay is expected to grow across all major nations in the region, with those in West Africa leading in terms of exploration activity. Escalating activity in countries relatively new to the offshore drilling industry, such as Sierra Leone and Liberia, may prove to be future competition for the more established nations of West Africa.

Ghana is expected to emerge as one of the most prominent countries in West Africa for the exploration of oil and gas, with 16 offshore discoveries made between 2008 and 2012 – second only to Angola, where 22 discoveries were made during the same period.

In terms of drilling expenditure, Angola is expected to remain the biggest spender in the region by some margin, over the next few years at least. GBI Research expects drilling expenditure in the Southern African country to continue climbing in the near future, hitting $6.67 billion in 2016. Nigeria and Egypt are forecast to place second and third, with totals of $2.26 billion and $1.52 billion, respectively.

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Saipem Wins $1.1B in North, West Africa E&C Contracts

Saipem has been awarded new E&C Offshore contracts in North and West Africa for a total value of approximately $1.1 billion.

In Egypt, Saipem has been awarded by Burullus Gas Company a contract for the development of the West Delta Deep Marine Phase IXa Project about 56 miles (90 kilometers) off the Mediterranean Coast of Egypt.

The scope of work encompasses engineering, procurement, installation, pre-commissioning and commissioning support of subsea facilities in the West Delta Deep Marine Concession, where Saipem already successfully performed earlier subsea development phases.

New facilities include rigid and flexible flowlines, umbilicals and other related subsea structures, to be installed in water depths up to 2,788 feet (850 meters).

Marine activities will be carried out between the second and the fourth quarter of 2014.

Furthermore, in Angola, Saipem has been awarded an EPCI [engineeringf, procurement, construction and installation] contract for subsea facilities. The scope of work includes engineering, procurement, fabrication and installation of production and water injection pipelines and flowlines, rigid jumpers and other related subsea structures.

Offshore activities will be performed between the second quarter of 2014 and the second quarter of 2015, in a water depth ranging from 2,296 feet to 4,757 feet (700 to 1,450 meters).

The fabrication activities will be fully carried out in Angola at Saipem yards in Soyo and Ambriz.

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Saipem Wins $1.1B in North, West Africa E&C Contracts

Saipem has been awarded new E&C Offshore contracts in North and West Africa for a total value of approximately $1.1 billion.

In Egypt, Saipem has been awarded by Burullus Gas Company a contract for the development of the West Delta Deep Marine Phase IXa Project about 56 miles (90 kilometers) off the Mediterranean Coast of Egypt.

The scope of work encompasses engineering, procurement, installation, pre-commissioning and commissioning support of subsea facilities in the West Delta Deep Marine Concession, where Saipem already successfully performed earlier subsea development phases.

New facilities include rigid and flexible flowlines, umbilicals and other related subsea structures, to be installed in water depths up to 2,788 feet (850 meters).

Marine activities will be carried out between the second and the fourth quarter of 2014.

Furthermore, in Angola, Saipem has been awarded an EPCI [engineeringf, procurement, construction and installation] contract for subsea facilities. The scope of work includes engineering, procurement, fabrication and installation of production and water injection pipelines and flowlines, rigid jumpers and other related subsea structures.

Offshore activities will be performed between the second quarter of 2014 and the second quarter of 2015, in a water depth ranging from 2,296 feet to 4,757 feet (700 to 1,450 meters).

The fabrication activities will be fully carried out in Angola at Saipem yards in Soyo and Ambriz.

Generated by readers, the comments included herein do not reflect the views and opinions of Rigzone. All comments are subject to editorial review. Off-topic, inappropriate or insulting comments will be removed.

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